Laying off older workers is still a rare phenomenon which occurs only in some enterprises. However, this may become more popular in the context of the 4.0 revolution.

The Hanoi Job Service Center every week receives more than 1,000 people who declare unemployment status. Half of them are workers in industrial zones (IZs).

La Thi Huong, 32, from Thai Binh province, told reporters that she was a worker for a Japanese company in Bac Thang Long IZ for 10 years.

“My health conditions began getting worse some years ago. I cannot see things very clearly, and my limbs tremble. Some of my colleagues also complain about the symptoms,” she said.

Huong decided to leave the Japanese company two months ago.

Nguyen Thi Lan from Ha Tinh province was dismissed. “The company is meeting big difficulties and has to scale down production. Many workers have been laid off, including older workers like me,” Lan said.

She had been working for more than 10 years for a garment company in Quang Minh IZ.

At a recent press conference on policies related to social insurance, Le Dinh Quang from the Vietnam Labor Federation affirmed that the dismissal of older workers exists.

The survey by the Institute for Workers and Trade Unions (IWTU) showed that in Hanoi, of 10,000 workers receiving severance pay, 90 percent were more than 35 years old.

The survey also found large enterprises which have up to 15,000 workers, but only had one or two workers retiring in the last four years.

This means that the majority of workers in enterprises are young, while there is no older worker who will work until retirement age.

At a workshop held on June 19, Ngo Duy Hieu from the Vietnam Labor Federation affirmed that the dismissal of older workers can be seen in many foreign invested enterprises. As a result, workers lose their jobs, don’t have source of income, and cause social problems in the future.

Meanwhile, secretary general of the Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association Truong Van Cam, agreed that workers in the textile & garment industry cannot work until retirement age because the career requires good health, but denied that employers dismiss workers aged over 35.

Dao Thi Thu Huyen from Canon Vietnam affirmed that more young workers quit their jobs than older ones.

Regarding the IWTU’s survey which found that very few workers retired in recent years, Huyen said this was because foreign invested enterprises in the country are still young.

Canon Vietnam, for example, has been in Vietnam for 17 years, and the oldest worker there is just over 40. Therefore, there are not many retired workers.